Fife bullying video: Police charge 15-year-old girl after shocking assault goes viral on Facebook

Police in Scotland have charged a female teenager after a shocking video showing a 13-year-old girl being assaulted and humiliated went viral on Facebook.

Footage uploaded to the social media site on Monday (17 August) showed the suspect punching and kicking a visibly shaken girl and dragging her by her hair on a street in Cowdenbeath, Fife. The attack ends with the suspect straddling the helpless crying girl and punching her hard in the face.

A 15-year-old girl was arrested in connection with the assault and she has since been charged after the video was viewed more than four million times. The footage drew condemnation from Facebook users who said it was "sick" and that the abusive girl should be "put down".

Amid the maelstrom on social media, Fife Police said in a statement: "Thank you to those concerned members of the public who have contacted us today regarding a video of an assault in Cowdenbeath, which is currently on social media. We are actively investigating the matter."

The video comes after two girls in Northfield, West Midlands, were charged with offences related to another bullying incident caught on camera. One 16-year-old girl was handed a 10-month referral order while a second 16-year-old girl will appear at Birmingham Youth Court on 4 September.